Baby bottle holder



0, 1 57 A. L. GRUBER 2,303,417

" BABY BOTTLE HOLDER Filed June 17, 1954 ART HUR L. GRUBER INVENTOR.

; ATTORNEY United iPate-W BABY BQTTLE HQLDER Arthur L. Gru'ner, Waco, Ten.

Application June 17, 1954, Serial No. 437,351

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-103) The present invention relates to a baby bottle holder and more particularly to a baby bottle holder which is adapted for easy positioning on the bars of a play pen, crib and the like.

Present baby bottle holders are disadvantageous in that the constructions are generally bulky and take up an unusual amount of space in the crib or play pen and are provided with fastening means or securing means which is relatively intricate and difficult to manipulate in order to position the bottle holder.

Also, such holders generally have the disadvantage of not providing a holder which is adapted to readily receive and support in a satisfactory manner bottles of various configurations and sizes.

The present invention overcomes the above difiiculties in providing a bottle holder which may not only be readily positioned or removed from the bars of a crib, play pen and the like, but it is also provided with bottle holder means which is adapted for receiving bottles of various sizes.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a bottle holder including a bracket for engaging with the bars of a crib or play pen of any dimension or spacing.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a baby bottle holder which may be instantly adjustable to any desired height which makes the position or size of the mattress in a crib, or the height of the walls of a play pen or the size of the baby relatively immaterial.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bottle holder which supports a baby bottle in a manner so that the nipple thereof is full of liquid at all times to inhibit swallowing of air by the baby.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a baby bottle holder which positions the bottle in a play pen or crib so that the baby can periodically turn its head from the bottle and can always return to proper position for continued nursing rom the baby bottle.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a baby bottle holder which may be easily installed or removed from a crib, play pen or the like without the necessity of any tools and which has no moving parts to wear out or get out of adjustment, which in turn increases the life or period of use of the bottle holder.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a baby bottle holder which securely positions a baby bottle in a crib or play pen whereby the bottle cannot be disengaged from the holder by the baby and which cannot fall out of the holder thereby eliminating the possibility of breaking the bottle which in turn provides a holder that can be used for a new-born baby without fear or dan er of harm to the baby from the falling and/or brealdng of the bottle.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a baby bottle holder which includes paired spring fingers facing in an opposite direction for engaging bars of a crib, play pen and the like, a support arm secured to said bracket and a bottle holder secured to said support arm,

said holder and bracket having resilient means thereon which inhibits relative movement or damage between the bracket and bars and between the holder and supported bottle respectively.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from a discussion of the following description and drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevation showing the invention in position on the bars of a crib or play pen;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the bottle holder bracket means and support arm;

Fig. 3 is a top View of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrating the bottle holder bracket and the support arm engaged with the bracket; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the manner in which the bracket and support are engaged or connected together.

In Fig. 3 the invention is generally denoted by the numeral 2 and is shown as including bracket means 3 for engaging and supporting the device on a crib, play pen and the like, the support arm 4 secured to such bracket with the bottle holder bracket means 5 secured to the support arm.

The bracket means 3 in its preferred embodiment includes strips of spring metal 6 and 7 which are secured together by any suitable means such as the brads 8 and 9 as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The spring strip 6 is bent out of its longitudinal plane between the brads 8 and 9 as seen in Fig. 4 to form a space 29 between strip members 6 and 7 for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter. The other spring metal strip is bent out of the longitudinal plane of the metal as illustrated at 11 and 12 whereby elongated portions 13 and 14 are provided adjacent each end of the strip which are in spaced relation to the adjacent end portions 15 and 16 of the spring metal strip 6. The por ion 13 and portion 15 on strips 7 and 6 respectively form a pair of spring fingers which face in a direction or which open in a direction opposite to that formed by the portions 14 and 16 of strips 7 and 6, which portions also form paired spring fingers.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 the portions 13, 14, 15 and 16 are extended or elongated and are covered with resilient material as illustrated at 17, for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter.

The support arm 4 is shown as including the main body portion 18 intermediate the end portions 19 and 29 thereof which portions are bent out of the plane of the body portion 18 and in the same direction as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The bent portions 19 and 20 permit the support arm to be connected and supported by bracket 3 so that bottle 38 in bottle bracket means 5 assumes a tilted position as shown in Fig. l of the drawings.

The spring finger 21 also includes a portion 26 thereof which extends laterally relative to the portion 25, and such laterally extending portion fits adjacent the bent portion 19 of support arm 4 as more clearly seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The laterally extending portion 25 includes a projection 27 and an integral extension 2-5, both of which aid in positioning the support arm 4 on the racket 3 in a manner to be more particularly discussed hereinafter.

The portion 26 of spring finger 21 is continually urged inwardly toward the end portion 19 of support arm 4, which in turn tends to cause projection 27 to move toward opening 28 in bent portion 19 as more clearly seen in Fig. 2. Therefore, when the integral extension 26 is engaged the portion 26 may be moved outwardly or away from the end portion 19 of support arm 4 which increases the distance between the end of projection 27 and bent portion 19 of support arm 4. With the bent portion 19 and portion 26 of spring finger 21 in spaced apart ofthe drawings.

bracket means 3 by inserting the portion 19 in space 29 formed between members 6 and 7 as illustrated in Fig. 4

Extension 26 is' then released, whereupon spring member21 urges projection 27 into opening 30 so as tosecurely position the; support arm .on the bracket means 3 in the manner illustrated in Fig; "1 of the drawings. between the members 6 and 7 there are no sharp surfaces projecting from the point of connection between the support arm*4 and the bracket'means 3 which might injure or cut an infant in the crib or play pen to which the device is secured.

However, the rounded edge of projection 27 may make unnecessary the engagement and spreading apart. of portion 27 relative to bent portion 19, since such action can occur automatically when'the projection engages bracket 3. The portion 20 of support arm 4 is somewhat .longer than the portion 19 in order to accommodate suitable means for holding a baby bottle. Such holding means is preferably in the form of spaced members 32 and 33 which are secured to portion by any suitable means such as brads 34 and 35 and illustrated in Fig. 2. The members 32 and 33 may be preshaped as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings and are preferably formed of spring steel so that the arms 36 and 37 of each member. tend to grip a bottle 38 when it is positioned therein.

The members 32 and 33 are also provided with a resilient covering and such covering serves the dual function of protecting a glass or plastic bottle while it is held in the metal arms 32 and 33 and also serves to grip the bottle to prevent slipping thereof from the arms 32 and 33.

The above arrangement of the members 32 and 33 allows a bottle to be easily and rapidly inserted therein while providing a means of securely gripping a baby bottle of any shape or dimension. The resiliency of the members 32 and 33 and the resiliency of the covering 17 allows such members to conform to the shape of'any bottle which may be positioned in the holder.

While it is believed that the operation and advantages of the invention are apparent by reason of the foregoing description, to further amplify and illustrate it will be assumed that it is desired to support a baby bottle in a crib or play pen.

The paired spring fingers 13, 15' and 14, 16 are engaged with adjacent bars 40 and 41 as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. It is to be noted that the arrangement of the paired fingers is such that they are of sufficient length whereby they may be engaged with bars in various play pens which may have differing distances between the bars 40 and 41. Also, the spacing between the paired fingers 13, 15 and 14, 16 may be adjusted so as to accommodate bars of lesser or greater dimension. By engaging extension 26' and moving spring clip 21 away from the portion 19, the portion 19 of support and 4 may be positioned between the members 6 and 7 and projection 27 enaged in opening so as to securely position the support arm on the bracket as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. A bottle 38 may then be positioned in the bottle holder brackets 32 and 33 so that the device is now ready for nursing.

his to be noted that the bottle is positioned in the bottle holder brackets in a fashion so that the fluid contents thereof will constantly fill the nipple at the lower end of the bottle; This inhibits swallowing of air by Since the bent portion 19 is positioned the baby while it is nursing from the bottle, thereby discouraging the possibility of colic. Also, the arrangement of the support bracket 3 is such that it may be moved to any vertical height relative to the mattress in the crib or the floor of a play pen so that the position of the mattress or thickness thereof or the size of the baby is relatively immaterial and the device can be readily adjusted to suit any condition.

The resilient material covering 17 on the bottle brackets 32 and 33 engage the bottle and prevent metal to glass contact thereby inhibiting the possibility of breakage and also serve the function of gripping the bottle to eliminate slipping of the bottle from the brackets. Such material on the members 6 and 7 serves the same purpose in that it eliminates scratching or marring of the finish on the bars 40 and 41 while serving the additional function of gripping such bars to inhibit slipping or sliding of the device downwardly.

Attention is particularly directed to the arrangement in that while it can be adjusted to suit various conditions as regards size of crib bars, spacing of crib bars, size of bottle, vertical adjustment, there is a minimum of moving parts which eliminates the possibility of replacing various parts as they wear out and provides a construction which will last indefinitely.

The support bracket 3 may be initially engaged with the bars 40 and 41 by inserting it in the area 45 between the bars and then rotating it so that the portions 13, 15 and 14, 16 engage adjacent bars.

Broadly the invention relates to a baby bottle holder which comprises a minimum of moving parts and may be easily secured to and removed from a crib, play pen and the like.

What is claimed is:

A baby bottle holder comprising a bottle holder bracket,

'a support arm having one end secured to said bottle holder bracket, said arm extending from said bottle holder bracket, a spring finger secured adjacent the other end of said arm, a projection secured to said spring finger, a fastening bracket for fastening the holder to the bars of a crib or the like, said fastening bracket having an opening whereby said fastening bracket and support arm are connected together by engaging said projection in the fastening bracket opening, and said fastening bracket including strips of spring metal forming spaced, paired fingers extending in opposite direction from the connection with said arm, said paired fingers of strip spring metal adapted to resiliently engage adjacent bars of a crib or the like whereby said support arm and bottle holder bracket thereon may be fixed in a desired position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain of 1933 

